GETTYSBURG, Darke County — A man who was shot and killed in front of children outside a Gettysburg home Sunday afternoon had intervened in a fight between an estranged couple moments before he was shot, according to the Darke County Sheriff’s Office.
Layton White, 29, of Union City, Indiana, died after being shot around 4:20 p.m. Sunday.
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A witness told deputies he saw the shooting suspect, Eric Martin, force his way into a house in the 100 block of West Main Street.
“Martin then was in a physical altercation with (a woman), who resides at the address,” a Darke County detective wrote in an affidavit filed in Darke County Municipal Court. “White intervened to try to protect (the woman).”
Martin is the estranged boyfriend of the woman, said Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker.
Whittaker said it appears the fight happened during an apparent custody exchange of the estranged couple’s children.
Deputies said after White intervened in the fight, Martin went to his vehicle and came back with a handgun. White was a friend of the woman involved in the initial fight, Whittaker said.
Martin is then accused of shooting White “and even followed the victim further into the street and shot him again,” court records read.
The couple’s children, who are age 10 and younger, were at the home at the time and witnessed the shooting happen outside on the sidewalk, Whittaker said.
Martin left the shooting scene and was eventually captured in the area of the Meijer store in Troy, Miami County Sheriff’s Office records showed.
Martin has been charged with a single count of murder and a judge set his bond Monday at $150,000, Darke County court records show.
The charge will be presented to a Darke County grand jury to determine whether Martin will be indicted on the charge.
Whitakker said he encourages people who need to do custody exchanges of children to use the parking lot at the Darke County Sheriff’s Office or other law enforcement agencies, since the facilities typically have cameras and law enforcement is present.
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